


Home By The Sea

by handsinmittens



Series: Home By The Sea [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13587561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handsinmittens/pseuds/handsinmittens
Summary: Legend tells of a group of Merfolk who live undersea near a small fishing village called Yavin. The legend says they protect the village from harm and the village protect the Merfolk from outsiders looking to catch them or worse. It’s only a legend though, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Mermaid Poe Dameron is one of the most ideal things. Inspiration from Arthur Curry’s *cough* outfit in the beginning of Justice League. Gender neutral to all enjoy Mermaid Poe Dameron. I make stuff up about mermaids and stuff.

You got off the bus and took a deep breath. Here you were back home after two years away.

You were a walking cliche, you thought. Moving out a small village to the big city to make something of yourself but ultimately failing so here you were, back home to your parents house. You weren’t all that embarrassed to be coming back home but still the irony of it all. You were adamant that you would be able to be independent and you weren’t going to be home in six months. At least you were able to say you were right on that part.

“May I help you?”

A voice broke you out of your thoughts. A voice that sounded like it had a melodic tone to it.

“Oh..um..”

The voice belonged to man with the most gorgeous brown eyes and messiest hair. You had the urge to run your fingers through it, but you figured that’d be weird to do to a stranger. Even if this stranger was dressed in some very tight jeans and a loose shirt in this cold weather. Maybe this stranger was a good omen for you.

“I’m just coming back home, it’s been a long time coming I suspect.” You said.

“Ah you must be Y/N L/N. Your family has been talking about you coming home. They are very excited for it.”

You groaned out loud and the stranger laughed.

“I’m Poe. Poe Dameron. It’s nice to meet you. May I escort you to the village?”

“Sure why not.”

Before you could protest he picked up your suitcase and started walking towards the village. You hurried to catch up to him and soon you arrived at your destination.

* * *

 

After saying goodbye and a promise from Poe he’ll see you again, you knocked on the door to your parents house. They opened the door and greeted you with so much enthusiasm, it took a considerable amount of strength to gently them push away from you.

You dropped your suitcase off in your room and laid down on your bed. It had been so long since you’d last been here. You still had posters all over your room over marine animals and tons of books about mythical creatures. You snorted to yourself, it seemed so childish to believe in these myths and legends but you’d heard somewhere that how did these myths and legends come true if there was no truth to them to begin with. It would be nice, you supposed, to find out there was a group of mythical creatures living just around the corner from you.

Your parents house was not far from the sea and you used to love going down to the shore and paddling in the water. You missed those days when you were in the city, the best you could do was sit on the edge of the bath and dangle your feet in it.

Your mind drifted back to earlier to the stranger you met at the bus stop. Trusting random strangers wasn’t something you usually did but there was something about him that you liked. He seemed so nice and easy going, you really hoped he’d keep his promise that you would see him again.

* * *

 

“I said no!”

“Dad!”

After seeing you Poe returned to his home under the sea not so far from Yavin. Poe had just finished telling his father about his day and about you. Poe was hoping that his father would be happy to hear he had met someone but apparently this was not the case.

Poe had lost his mother at an early age to a terrible storm and neither Poe or his father had ever truly recovered. There was no leadership in their group but Shara and Kes were always considered the people to go to. Now Poe had asked his father if he could go back onto shore to see you again and his father seemed against it.

“Why are you so against me going back?”

Kes sighed and looked upwards like somehow he could summon Shara back to him and talk some sense into their son. She would most likely encourage him to go back and live his life the way Poe wants too. Kes knew he couldn’t stop his son, Poe was too much like his parents.

“I’m not I just...I’m sorry. I know I can’t stop you from going back, but just promise me you’ll be safe and you come back home a lot often.”

“Rey lives on land and you don’t tell her to come home all the time.”

“She comes home all the time and she brings Finn now as well. He’s adjusting to the fact that his other half is a mermaid quite well.” Kes said.

Poe remembered the day Finn found out about Rey and her extended family. Rey had been found when she was a child and taken in by Kes. The whole group of them were just various outsiders from all over the world looking for somewhere quiet to live.

“I’ll see you later Poe and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Then how would I do anything.” Poe muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing dad.”

Kes swam off and Poe let a huge smile appear on his face. He was going to see you again and nothing could ruin his mood.

“Have you seen Ursula.”

Poe took it back.

“No Ben I have not seen Hux. Why do you keep calling him Ursula?”

Ben Solo was a childhood friend of Poe’s and ever since he went through a phase where he insisted everyone call him Kylo Ren, he had become insufferable. Well not too much, Ben was still a good guy to know and to hang out with.

“He kinda looks like the sea-witch from the Little Mermaid and you know how much Hux loves that film.”

“I thought it was you that loved that film.”

“Oh you know I do. Eric is a dreamboat. Back to my original question have you seen Hux?” Ben said.

“No but I bet he’s skulking around in his cave again.”

“See ya around Dameron, I want to hear all about the day you had later.”

Poe watched as Ben swam off and then he headed up to the shore. He lived with Rey, Finn and their dog, BB. The dog seemed to love Poe more than anyone else, which Poe was secretly smug about. Not that he’d tell his best friends this.

* * *

 

It was a new day and you decided to get out of the house. You needed to re-familiarize yourself with the village you had left behind all those two years ago. There was also the hope you might see Poe Dameron wandering around too, maybe accidentally bump into him.

It was another cold and windy day so you had wrapped yourself up in about as much layers as could wear. The sea breeze could be refreshing but it can also be brutal.

You were looking through the window of a bookstore when you saw the reflection of the very man you were thinking about. You turned around to see him standing next to you with a smile on his face.

“Hey.” You said.

“Promised you I’d see you again.”

“I didn’t think it would be so soon.”

Poe hummed and you stood in silence for a moment.

“Are you-”

“If you’re-”

“You first.” You said to Poe.

“I wanted to ask if you’re not busy, we could spend the day together? I’ve only been living here for a few months and I’m still trying to get my bearings around here. I was hoping you could show me around, if you like.”

“I’ve not lived here for two years things have changed. This could be like an adventure for us both. I’d like to spend the day with you, why not.”

“Excellent.”

You both started to walk down the street and you decided to ask him a question that had been bugging you since you first saw him today.

“You’re brave wearing just jeans and a tshirt again today.” You said. It was a nice sight but you were more worried about his well being than how good he looked.

“I’ve actually got super secret x-men powers where my skin protects me from harsh weather. Don’t tell anyone.”

You let out a snort. That’d be a handy power to have living next to the ocean.

“Maybe you’re one of the mermaid’s that live next door.” You said with a laugh.

“Huh?” Poe asked. Did you know who he truly was?

“Have you not heard of the legends of the merfolk that have always lived near the village of Yavin? It’s quite a tale, even if a little unbelievable.”

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

“I’ll tell you if you buy me a hot drink.”

“Deal.”

You and Poe headed towards a small cafe and you sat down at a table tucked away in the corner. You started to tell Poe about the stories of the merfolk who protected the small fishing village of Yavin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’ve returned back home to your home, Yavin, after being away for two years. Yavin is a small fishing village tucked away from outside view. You met a stranger who calls himself Poe Dameron and are now getting to know him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the age of the Shape of Water we just wanna be loving fish men and fish women and fish people

It had been two weeks since you arrived back home and one week since you had started meeting up with Poe Dameron on a daily basis.

You were in your room looking for your phone as you and Poe had exchanged numbers earlier that day. You didn’t want to seem too excited by constantly texting him but you really needed that phone. You put it down once and it disappeared. It’s like mobile phones don’t want to be found.

You were rooting around under your bed when you felt something solid. You pulled out a book that had the title local legends. It was a book you had when you were younger and you were smiled at the memory of you demanding your parents buy it for you. You were really into mythology as a child and knowing that there might be one right near to your home was exciting. You slid the book back under your bed and continued to look for your phone.

Suddenly you felt a buzz near to you and you scrambled around the floor to locate the source. Of course your phone would still be in your jacket pocket.

* * *

 

“What are you doing there?”

Poe fumbled with his phone and managed to put it in his pocket.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Right because you’re putting your phone into your pocket in a panic for the fun of it.”

Poe didn’t say anything. The owner of the voice belonged to Finn, Poe’s best friend. He was human and the only one who knew about Poe and his family’s real identity. Finn had been dating Rey for a year before she revealed to him that she was actually a mermaid. He wasn’t as shocked as Rey thought he would be. In fact, Finn took it all in his stride and accepted Rey for who she was.

“I’ve met someone Finn.”

“Ohhhh do go on.” Finn said and he sat next to Poe on the bench overlooking the beach.

“It's Y/N and I met them two weeks ago. We’ve been sort of seeing each other but I haven’t asked them out.”

“Sounds like you really want to.”

“What should I do?” Poe asked.

“You can ask her out. It’s really all that simple Poe. It’s what you told me to do when I wanted to ask Rey out.”

“Why would I take my own advice? That’s terrible.”

“Just do it Poe and really, get a new phone while you’re at it.”

“What’s wrong with this one?” Poe took out his phone from his pocket. It was an old phone the size of a brick. Finn didn’t think you could find these types of phones anymore.

“What’s wrong with this one is everything. It looks like it could sink you to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Probably a good thing tails don’t have pockets.” Poe said.

Finn rolled his eyes. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to his girlfriend, his best friend and their extended family being mermaids.

* * *

 

You were staring at yourself in the mirror trying to figure out what was wrong. There was absolutely nothing wrong but you were about to go out with Poe. It was just going to be an ordinary day except it was apparently a date. You couldn’t quite make out the words properly in the text but you assumed it was. Why he had this difficult big brick phone you did not know.

The weather was slightly warmer today and so you had no need for several layers like you’ve needed for the past few days. You grabbed your keys, yelled you were leaving for the day to anyone in the house and headed towards the meeting point Poe had asked you to meet him at.

* * *

 

You reached the beach in time to see Poe appearing from behind some rocks.

“Hey you.” You said.

Poe ducked and looked around startled but smiled when he saw you. He made his way over to you and it looked like he was about to give you a hug but then decided against it.

“I uh don’t meant to sound rude but you’re kind of wet.” You said.

“I slipped?”

“Slipped into the dry sand?”

“Yes.”

You wanted to ask how come there was no sand on him or in his hair but you could tell he wanted to move on so you left it alone.

“You wanted to show me something?” You asked Poe.

Poe sighed quietly in relief. He didn’t want to explain just yet he was late getting out because his dad cornered him again. So Poe had to make a mad dash for the nearest cave and change into whatever clothes he managed to grab from his room. He was still ever grateful for these waterproof clothes. Poe knew one he’d end up forgetting his charm that enables him to walk on land, and he’d have a hard time explaining to you that his two legs was now actually a tail.

“Yeah I did. Follow me.”

* * *

 

Ten minutes and a lot of scrambling up a huge hill later, you and Poe reached the lighthouse overlooking the entire bay.

“Why did you bring me here?” You asked.

“I used to live near a small town like Yavin and I always loved visiting the lighthouse there. My mum used to take me there when I was a kid, it’s like a way for me to be closer to her.”

“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

“It was so long ago, it’s fine. My dad hates heights and always used to stand around near the bottom saying he’d catch me if I fell. Sometimes I think he still does.”

A sudden gust of wind blew and you shivered.

“Come here, I’ll keep you warm.”

“You’re just doing this so you can cuddle me.” You said teasingly.

“Maybe I am.” Poe replied in a more serious tone.

You started to blush and tried to hide it away but you knew you had failed as Poe let out a snort of laughter. You snuggled into Poe and he wrapped an arm around you. He was unnaturally warm but right now you didn’t care.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

Poe turned to look at you and smiled. You both started at each other before you noticed Poe slowly leaning down. He stopped, as though he was waiting for your permission. You nodded ever so slightly that you thought he wouldn’t notice. He seemed he did and Poe put one of his hands on your cheek, pulled you gently towards him and kissed you.

He tasted like the salt water of the ocean but like the cool breeze in the summer. While you were distracted by your thoughts and how good it felt when he slipped his tongue into your mouth.

You broke apart from him for breath but Poe followed you. You put your hand across his mouth and felt him pout behind your hand.

“As nice as that was, I really need to breathe.” You said and removed your hand from his mouth

“Pssh, breathing’s overrated anyway.”

You turned your head to face the ocean again and rested your head on Poe’s shoulder.

“We should do this again sometime.” Poe said.

“Sit on the bench by the lighthouse and cuddle?”

“Nah I was thinking more like making out all the time like teenagers and do nothing else.”

You lifted your head up and looked at Poe. You gently shoved him and he clutched his chest, pretending to be hurt.

“Ass.”

“Mmmmm I do have a good one.”

You sighed and shook your head. He did have the maturity of a teenage boy.

“Sorry, you just make me nervous.”

You made him nervous? Had he looked in the mirror lately?

Suddenly you felt your phone buzz in your pocket and you pulled it out. You had a text saying you needed to come home. It wasn’t urgent, it was just that a family member had come to visit and see you. You groaned. Ugh, family visits.

“Something wrong?” Poe asked.

“I have to go back home. Someone from the family has come to visit me now that I’m back. You can love your family but honestly when they visit it makes you hate them for some reason.”

“Come on then, let’s get it over with. I’ll walk you back home.”

Poe got up off the bench and offered you his hand. You shivered at the loss of warmth and took his hand. You walked back to your house where Poe gave you a small kiss and a wink. You watched him walk away from you before going into your house.

He really did have a nice ass.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Poe have shared your first kiss and are starting to slowly form a romantic relationship. Poe is wondering if now is the time for him to tell you the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is time to tell because this is the second to last part and it’s underwhelming I just needed more mermaid Poe to exist. This was always going to be a short one

You were sat at the table in your house, staring at your phone. Poe hadn’t contacted you in a few days. Maybe something had happened and he needed space or was busy. Still, you missed him.

You started to notice that Poe had become slightly distant. Not distant to you, he was still the same Poe you had first met but there was something different about him. It seemed to of started ever since Poe took you to meet his friends Rey and Finn. He told you how Rey was sort of his adopted sister and then Rey proceeded to take over the conversation and tell you all about how she met Finn. It was a cute story but when Rey started to say something about how Finn took something very well, Poe cut her off.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard your phone go off. It was a message from Poe. He asked you to meet him down on the beach where you had last met with him near the rocks. The message seemed urgent and so you fired off a quick reply and grabbed your coat. If you were going up to the lighthouse again you wanted to be prepared.

* * *

 

You found Poe near the same rocks you found him last time. He had his hands in his pockets and was kicking the sand. He seemed to be troubled by something.

“Hey, Poe.” You said, not too loud as to not startle him.

“Y/N!” He said, a smile beginning to appear on his face when he saw you.

At least he didn’t seem too troubled and he was happy to see you. That was a good sign. You walked over to him and he gave you a big hug. This was weird, he usually tried to kiss you. You’d gotten told off several times for kissing in public especially for how long and slightly hot it got between the two of you.

“I know we’ve not known each other for every long but I need to tell you something. Well I need to show you something.”

“Poe, whatever it is I can handle it.”

“I need you to follow me and be careful it can be a bit slippery round here.”

“Let me hold your hand then.”

A smirk appeared on Poe’s face and you gave him a deadpan look. He held out his hand for you and you took it.

* * *

 

Poe had slowly and carefully guided you into a cave. It was small but beautiful and pleasantly warm. Definitely making a change from the weather outside. There was a small pool of water leading out into the ocean but it was mostly land and a few rocks. Poe had assured you the water was calm and wouldn’t end up carrying you away, as you had a thought it might do.

“I know we’ve not known each other long but I’ve....you....” Poe sighed, running his hands through his hair. You sat down on the floor and got Poe to sit next to you.

“Take your time Poe. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I hope not.”

Poe was fiddling with his necklace, a simple chain with a singular ring on it.

“Maybe it’s easier if I show you. Stay there.”

Poe got up and proceeded to walk into the water. Before you could talk he completely gone under. You crawled to the edge to see if you could see him but there was nothing there. Before you could start to panic and wonder how on earth you could explain that Poe had seemingly melted into the water his face popped out of the surface of the water. He rested his arms on the floor of the cave and looked at you.

“Hello.” You said.

“What do you think?”

You had noticed that Poe was now missing a shirt and you thought he was asking you what you thought of his body. You shielded your eyes because you weren’t quite ready for that.

“Oh.”

“Poe, you’re naked. What else am I supposed to do.” You said.

“Na- no I’m not naked.”

“Then why is your shirt gone?”

“Please just look.” Poe gently tugged your hands away from your eyes. That’s when you noticed the tail.

“Uh.” You said eloquently.

The tail was all black except for orange stripes on either side of it. An unusual colour for a mermaid’s tail, but then again this whole situation was strange.

“So I’m guessing those legends of the Merfolk who live near this village is true then.” You said.

“You’re not mad?” Poe asked.

“Why would I be mad? I completely understand why you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

You crawled to the edge of the pool to get a closer look. You ran your fingers through his hair and tucked a strand behind his ear. Even when his hair was wet it still got messy. Poe was looking at you with hopeful eyes and you found it really adorable. You leaned down to kiss him but before Poe could deepen it you pulled back.

“Hey! I was enjoying that.”

“You’re really salty.”

“I’m nothing but sunshine and rainbows.” Poe said pretending to be offended.

“I see you get more cocky when you’ve got your tail.”

Poe hauled himself out of the water and sat on the edge, only his tail now in the water.

“Rey is like you, isn’t she? When you cut her off the other day, she’d almost said who she really was.”

“I did.”

“So then Rey is like you and Finn is like me but Rey told me she and Finn regularly go to her home. Which is under water. I assume.” You said.

“What’s your question.”

“My question is how the hell does that work.”

“There is this sort of charm we can use to walk on land. The legend tells of the Merfolk protecting the village? This was a way for us to get on land to help if we could.” Poe explained.

“Isn’t there part of it that goes the villagers protect you from harm. It’s kind of cheating, isn’t it?”

“You’re right. Looks like I’ll have to turn this charm in and stay under the ocean forever.”

“Don’t you dare Poe Dameron.”

“Back to your question, it seems the charm has an effect on humans too. It can help you breathe underwater indefinitely but it does have drawbacks, such as the crushing pressure the further you go down into the ocean. Sea creatures respect mermaids because we are part of the ocean but as always they are wary of humans. Even if they are with us.”

There was a companionable silence between the two of you for a few minutes.

“Does your father have the same colour tail as you?”

“No, I’m really not sure how the tail colour works but I really like the orange stripes on either side. Makes me seem cool.” Poe said.

“Uh...huh....”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Is it possible for a human to change into a mermaid?”

“Interested?” Poe said with a smirk. He would be lying if he said he wouldn’t be happy if you could change.

“Just....asking....” You replied, suddenly fascinated by the floor and twiddling your thumbs.

Suddenly the cave was filled with the most horrific sound. You almost jumped out of your skin and just missed falling into the water.

“Sorry that’s my phone.”

“Oh my god Poe please change your ringtone. Just change your phone. Wait where are you even keeping it?”

“I keep it in a safe corner surrounded by rocks. Emergency stashes of clothes tucked away too. They have these places all around the area, it’s very handy. I don’t think people would take too kindly for me walking around naked.”

You watched as Poe tried to scramble up but you waited until he realized he couldn’t get far with his tail. You smothered a laugh but Poe noticed and pulled you down to the floor to him. You were now lying next to him but you were looking down at him.

“This is nice.” He said.

“Your phone is still going off, Poe.”

“Leave it.” He started to pull you closer to him.

“It’s still going off and I’m going to go ahead and guess many people know about your terrible phone.”

“Hey!”

“So it has to be important if they let it ring this long.”

You pushed yourself away from him and followed the noise of the phone. When you found it you gave it to Poe. He pulled a face at you and you sat away from him as to give him some sort of privacy. Not that it worked very well. So you sat and waited for him to finish on the phone.

When he had finished his call, he handed the phone to you and slid back into the water. You shielded your eyes again, knowing he was gonna be naked. Whatever your relationship might be you didn’t want to cross any lines.

A few minutes later, Poe called out to you to say everything was ok. You thought you heard a hint of a laughter in his voice so you told him where he could stick it.

“That was Finn. Said he has some news for me, that’d rather say in person. He sounded happy. You can come too if you like.”

“I’d be glad too. Unless it turns out Finn is actually a centaur in disguise.” You said and laughed.

Poe gave you a look that made you think you were right.

“Oh my god seriously???”

“You’ve been reading too many books.”

“No such thing Poe.”

You stood up and you both left the cave to go to Finn and Rey’s house. You were secretly hoping they had a Pegasus and it had a baby Pegasus you could keep. Highly improbable but hey, you can dream.


End file.
